Rail travel

Rail travel includes everything from heritage steam trains to high-speed bullet trains, from sightseeing or dinner trains to the convenience of speed as a means of modern transport.

Understand

See also: Tips for rail travel

Railroads emerged in the 19th century as the first widely available means of fast land transportation, much before the rise of the automobile, and have put their mark on most countries and cities. Canada was unified only by rail until the Trans-Canada Highway was completed in 1961; in Russia, the Trans-Siberian Railway was the only coast-to-coast land transport until a Trans-Siberian Highway opened in the early 21st century.

The availability and quality of rail infrastructure varies greatly between countries. While countries such as Germany and Japan have an excellent rail network both in and between cities, passenger rail service in the United States – once a world leader in rail transport – has fallen far behind its road network, and some countries are completely devoid of rail.

Rail travellers might encounter timetables and information being available in local languages only, poorly translated information or hard to understand ticketing requirements.

Public transportation networks are often made up of regular trains and commuter trains, together with urban rail systems such as metro and streetcars, as well as buses.

Understand

Categories

Africa

Asia

Europe

North America

Oceania

Other